Simon Benjamin Brodkin (born 29 September 1977) is an English comedian, performing both on the stand-up circuit and in comedy television series. He is best known for playing a cheerful chav character called Lee Nelson, but also performs as other comedy characters, such as a Liverpudlian footballer called Jason Bent. Performing solo stand-up since 2004, he has also written for and appeared on the television shows Al Murray's Multiple Personality Disorder in 2009, Lee Nelson's Well Good Show in 2010 and Lee Nelson's Well Funny People in 2013. Brodkin is known for taking part in pranks as his characters at public events, heckling public figures such as Sepp Blatter, Donald Trump and Theresa May. Early life Brodkin was born in Camden Town, London on 29 September 1977. Brodkin attended the independent University College School, Hampstead, in the London Borough of Camden. Brodkin studied medicine at the University of Manchester, graduating in 2001. He practised medicine in Manchester city hospitals until 2007, when he began performing stand-up comedy full-time. Career Stand-up Brodkin performed his first solo comedy show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2006, titled Simon Brodkin: Everyone But Himself. In his Lee Nelson stand-up routine, Brodkin's character typically interacts with his audience, telling them about his life, asking them questions, then replying with responses that reflect his world view, his own ignorance or his own stereotypically antisocial attitudes. His act is peppered with slang words. In character as Lee Nelson, he briefly stood as a candidate in the 2013 South Shields by-election. He withdrew because the BBC would not have been able to broadcast his shows during the electoral campaign due to their code of impartiality. Brodkin also performs a selection of other characters, including Jason Bent, an unintelligent Premiership footballer with a Merseyside accent. Other characters have included the sleazy and incompetent Dr. Bob. In recent years Brodkin has been performing stand-up as himself and is currently on tour with his new show Troublemaker until the end of 2021, with extra dates added for 2022. Television Brodkin began appearing on television in 2003, in a series of shorts entitled From Baghdad To Balham on Channel 4, playing a recently arrived Iraqi asylum seeker, and twice on Absolutely Fabulous on BBC One. In 2005, Brodkin appeared as Nelson in three episodes of Channel 4's The Morning After Show, alongside fellow guest Bob Mugabe. In 2007, Brodkin wrote for and